Archdiocese Of Santa Fe Adds Details To List Of Accused Priests

Nine priests the Archdiocese of Santa Fe considers credibly accused of sexual abuse were assigned to Our Lady of Sorrows parish in Las Vegas, NM between 1934 and 1986.

Hannah Colton / KUNM

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Without fanfare, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe updated its website last week with more information about where and when priests accused of sexual abuse worked in New Mexico.

Nearly a year after church officials first published a list and promised greater transparency, the Archdiocese has filled in the dates and locations where each priest, deacon, brother or seminarian was assigned. They have also added four new names, bringing the total to 78 officials the church believes have been credibly accused of sexual abuse.

Attorney Levi Monagle with the law offices of Brad D. Hall in Albuquerque has represented dozens of victims of priest sexual abuse. He says the Archdiocese is still leaving out many names of allegedly abusive priests that should be on the list, "so that people know whether or not their children might have had contact with these guys," Monagle said. "I think an accurate list, a comprehensive list, and a list that was actually created in a spirit of transparency would be as inclusive as possible, not as narrowly limited as possible."

Monagle's office named Robert Galli and Thaddeus Mazur, both of whom are dead, in two lawsuits this year; later, the Archdiocese added them to the list. Also new to the Archdiocesan list are Tom McConnell and Richard Hennessy.

The latest version of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s list comes less than two weeks after a Pennsylvania grand jury report shook the U.S. Catholic Church. The nearly 900-page report details the abuse of hundreds of children at the hands of priests in six Pennsylvania dioceses.

In response to the Pennsylvania revelations, Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester issued an apology letter, reiterating that the archdiocese has a "zero-tolerance policy." He said that means "any clergy who are accused with any shade of credibility are, and will continue to be, immediately removed from ministry."

Among the priests named in the Pennsylvania report were several who spent time in New Mexico at treatment centers run by the Servants of the Paraclete in Jemez Springs and Albuquerque.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe did not respond to KUNM's request for comment.

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